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I liked how this was more of a thinking movie than a typical action blockbuster. The dialogue was witty and intelligent, although sometimes a little verbose. But I think that's to be expected from the Wachowski Brothers.
Some people may have hated it, but I really liked the flow of the story. It wasn't a basic hollywood plot structure. There was a weird moment in the middle of the movie where things seem to slow down, and we are left to wonder how things might happen (at this point we already know what will happen, but we don't know exactly how). I thought it was a nice touch. Some would say the story dragged, but I think it was just a unique pacing. It was very refreshing.
The performances were also noteworthy. I think it's great that they used skilled British actors. They all did an extraordinary job, even though most of the characters seemed to border on being one-dimensional. Nevertheless, the characters seemed alive. Hugo Weaving impressed me. It's a challenge to act without the use of your face. Facial expressions exhibit emotion, and to deprive an actor of that makes things difficult. While I wasn't a fan of the mask, I think he had great body language, and what I thought would be an annoying performance was actually quite engaging.
Natalie Portman always has great screen presence. And it's no different here, playing Evey. Her evolution as being the everyman (everywoman? everyperson?) to blossoming as she finds herself and loses her "fear" is what makes us connect with the movie. There are great themes in the movie that can be quite hard to grasp, but following Evey in her journey makes things easier to swallow.
My one complaint is that the film seemed to try too hard to push itself as this, special, dystopian movie. There's a lot of dialogue and storylines and flashbacks thrown in at us that sometimes it all seems too muddled. I think this is the movie's biggest shortcoming. It's what stops it from being an excellent movie, staying only at "good" or "great." When things are all muddled, it's hard to find the soul of the movie. It's like a grand speech with no heart in it.
I'd give it 3 1/2 out of 5.
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Mar 18, 06
